On Wednesday, 29 May 2024, an incident occurred at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in which a person was sucked into the aircraft’s engine and tragically died.
The incident occurred on the KLM Cityhopper aircraft Embraer E190, registration number PH-EZL, during engine start-up in preparation for flight KL1341 to Billund, Denmark.
KLM briefly reported:
“A fatal incident took place at Schiphol today during which a person ended up in a running aircraft engine. Sadly, this person has died. The flight concerned was KL1341 bound for Billund. We are currently taking care of the passengers and employees who witnessed the incident at Schiphol. The circumstances are currently under investigation. For further information – once available – we refer you to the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.”
A statement was issued from Schiphol Airport:
“Today there was a horrific incident in which a person ended up in an aircraft engine. Our thoughts are with the relatives, and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is investigating this incident.”
Currently, there is no official information about the identity of the person who died, and under what circumstances the incident occurred.
UPDATE, 30/05/2024, 20:19
The Dutch Royal Military Police (Marechaussee), which is conducting the investigation, announced that the accident was a case of suicide. We transmit the announcement in its entirety:
“An incident occurred on the tarmac at Schiphol on Wednesday afternoon in which a man fell into the running engine of an aircraft and died. The aircraft had just completed the pushback procedure and was about to taxi to the runway.
The deceased man has been identified. The victim worked at a company at the airport. Investigation showed that he deliberately climbed into the engine. This is a case of suicide. Out of compassion for the victim and the surviving relatives, we will not make any further announcements.”
